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I just got a new copy of Small World, and it appears I have a redesigned storage tray for races and lost tribes. It does not look like the layout on page 8 of my instructions, anyway, so the suggestions as to where to store what does not work with my tray. I can't figure a way to put the tiles in without mixing types within compartments. Has anyone else encountered this problem, and if so, have you devised any solution? I may go the baggie route if I can't work out some method. Thanks for any help.

Welcome to the forums!! It's grea to have new people join the community. And congratulations on getting one of the best board games out there (though my personal favorite is Memoir '44, also by Days of Wonder)!

To answer your question...the original plastic organizer made it really tough to get the pieces out. Our fat fingers would prevent easy access to all of the tokens and it was sometimes a pain to find the right race. So in later versions, DoW tried to fix the 'fat-finger' issue by redesigning the tray that you have. That's why it looks different in the rule book.

I'm afraid I have an old version of the game so I can't give any advice about how to arrange the tokens, but I can tell you that I quickly abandoned the factory box for a nice little tackle box that fits all of the various tokens, mountains, coins, and pieces in one place where I can arrange it the way I want. It's been a great system and it might work for you as well. The plastic bag method could also work...

One thing to be careful about when you're looking for a tackle box...the first one I got for Small World ended up too tall to fit in the Small World box, so I had to find a different one that had enough spots and was thin.

Now I have all of the pieces in the original box and it's much easier to find things! Have fun with your search.

I am in the same boat as you. I am extremely picky about these type of things, so here is how I store my race tokens in the new tray design:

The Lost Tribes can be fit into the main tray if you side stack a few items and tokens to make more efficient use of the space there.

On a side note, I am currently designing wooden modular storage trays and boxes for Small World and Dominion. When I have completed the designs and built a few prototypes, I'll be posting some more info about them here.

Thanks, Mr. Z. I have always considered myself picky about this sort of thing (as are most game players I've encountered), but I think you outdo me on the finickiness scale. The method you have worked out is pretty efficient. I'm still having trouble with the Lost Tribes, though. Anyway, I look forward to your storage designs.

Thanks, Mr. Z. I have always considered myself picky about this sort of thing (as are most game players I've encountered), but I think you outdo me on the finickiness scale. The method you have worked out is pretty efficient. I'm still having trouble with the Lost Tribes, though. Anyway, I look forward to your storage designs.

You can fit all the Bivouac Shelters, Troll Lairs, and Fortresses in a single compartment (side stack the Bivouacs). Then, in the smaller storage spot, when you start stacking your Lost Tribes you can fit three tokens on the North and East sides of the stack by placing them in sideways. The rest of the Lost Tribe tokens will stack up just as high as the other six leaving plenty of room for your Dragon, Heroes, and Halfling Holes.

Quite a pain, right? This is why I'm designing a custom case system. If all goes well, I'll be able to carve the case out of a few pieces of solid wood that stack together into a larger combined case or simply be used in the original game box. Now THAT is a fun challenge!

I am having the same problem. i emailed Days of Wonder and they replied to me with a stand in email about them redesigning it and it all fits. I replied back with a display of how it could be possible. I am waiting for a reply.

this game is not a cheap game why should a customer have to go out and build or buy stuff so the the game fits in one box?

Has there been a real response from days of wonder on how to actually fit all the pieces?

Thanks to everyone who has posted suggestions to my inquiry! I very much appreciate it. Of course, now my problem is remembering what the optimal solution is at the end of a game and the pieces are scattered over the table . . .

I received another reply from Days of Wonder pointing to this forum talk as the fix. Except this does not fix the problem.
It would be great to get an official diagram from the company showing us how to arrange the races!

My understanding is that the tray that is shipping now was actually designed for Small World Underground, which has different races of differing sizes, thus there Isn't a correct way to arrange them. Try buying Be Not Afraid, which will you give you an additional tray with extra races spaces.

Glad to see I am not the only one unhappy with a poor designed storage tray for what seems to be a well designed game. I emailed support and received what seems to be a pre-formed response. Me and a buddy joked when we first opened the game that popping all the pieces out and finding where they go is actually the game. So we are losing right now.

Based on what I would call "fitting", not sticking above the black tray, I can only get 15 in the larger slot and 9 in the small slots. Any more and the clear plastic will hit the tokens and with the weight of the boards and maybe stacking my game with some others, I am sure it would not take long for the wear to show on the tokens.

If anyone has suggestions please let me know, as for now I guess I am going to follow one of the many other post online about plastic storage bins and bags.

I too have the first version of Small World, so I cannot comment on the new box. I will say that the original package was poorly designed, and am praying the latest expansion (which includes a larger tray) solves that.

Alas, I don't know yet. That expansion was supposed to be a Christmas present. Between shipping delays, and UPS losing the package, I won't see it until some time next year.

Despite not fitting every piece perfectly as shown in the manual, trust me when I say that the new version tray is way way way better than the original one (I have both, the original in my Small World and the new in my SWU).

If you have the new one, just follow the guide posted earlier in this thread. Everything should fit fine if you put the lost tribes in the main box (they should all fit easily in the deep square shaped hole) and split up the larger armies between a few slots.

P.S. The expansion tray is the new style which is nice, but it only has enough spots to fit all the expansions, not also the main game tokens. And it doesn't fit inside the main box so you'll have to carry it around separately.